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Minerals
Dietary minerals serve a life sustaining function by helping the body to operate properly and remain strong. Minerals build skeletal and soft tissues, as well as regulate processes, such as heartbeat, normal blood clotting, internal fluid pressure, nerve reactions, impulse transmissions, muscle contractions, oxygen transport, acid-base balance to keep the body pH neutral, and enzyme and hormone systems.
In addition, dietary minerals make up 60-80% of all the inorganic (non-carbon containing) material in the body, and they fall into two categories: macrominerals and microminerals. There are seven macrominerals, also known as major or bulk minerals: calcium, chloride, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and sulfur. They are present in virtually every cell in the body and at least 100 mg of each are needed daily just for normal functioning and well-being. Microminerals, commonly called trace minerals, are required in smaller quantities Đ typically less than 100 mg per day. Still, some are considered “essential” for good nutrition. Essential microminerals include chromium, copper, fluoride, iodine, iron, manganese, molybdenum, selenium and zinc.
Unfortunately, dietary minerals have low bioavailability, which means in their natural state, they are not readily available for use in the body. This is because minerals are too big and bulky with high molecular weights, so they are unable to cross the intestinal membrane intact. To enable dietary minerals to pass through the intestinal wall where they can be absorbed into the blood stream, they are usually attached to a “carriers.” This is why minerals are found in various forms like magnesium aspartate and calcium citrate.
Mineral chelates (pronounced KEY-lates) are minerals bound to special “carriers” like amino acids and are particularly effective in propelling nutrients into the blood stream. Few nutritional substances cross the intestinal wall as quickly and easily as amino acids; thanks to their unique active transport mechanism of absorption. By linking the two, the amino acid is able to transport the mineral across the intestinal lining into the body, so it can be put to use. However, to be transported intact, the mineral must have a stable bond to the amino acid. Simply mixing minerals with amino acids – a basic ionic and hydrogen bond – will not produce a stable product. Mineral “chelates” created in this manner often lose their integrity during digestion and compromise the nutrient’s availability.
Albion® Laboratories has developed a process that produces a stable, nutritionally functional mineral chelate that provides reliable and effective mineral nutrition. Albion’s patented technology replicates the body’s natural chelation process, essentially turning inorganic minerals into small, highly bioavailable organic molecules (non-ionized). This process ensures that the mineral will remain stable throughout digestion and ultimately result in maximum absorption.